Seagrave 2011

I never cease to be amazed by the residents of this small village as they bid silly money for each lot at the after show auction. I've been attending this show for over 15 years now and whilst the flower exhibits were understandably down this year it was still a quality show and a privilege to help Kay Bint organise it.

It's a few years since I managed to win most points in show but I finally cracked it this year thanks to 12 wins. I also won best exhibit in show for the very first time with my Top Tray entry. My Sweet Candle are getting better with each passing week.

In a moment of huge controversy I also picked up a bonus win in the fruit cake class beating many women, including my wife into third place. In a particularly squalid case of sour grapes she complained that my cake was burnt! I mean....honestly! If I was fairly beaten I pray I'd show a little more decorum and accept defeat with good grace!

Errrr...you still ok to do me a trug for Harrogate this weekend my darling?

18

18 is a significant number. For instance it's the record number of English football titles won by a team, currently shared by Manchester United and Liverpool, although Manchester United will overtake their pikey rivals at the end of this season, assuming of course that Steven 'utter scouse cheat' Gerrard doesn't do his usual trick and create a goal for Arsenal with a dubious pass-back like he did last season for Chelsea. No, i'm talking of course about 18 pointer vegetables which include stump carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, exhibition shallots and runner beans.

For show-growers making up collections they can be very useful if you have a shortage of 20 pointer veg, and indeed Peter Clark has often won the National by using quality cucumbers in his collection of 6. When well grown, getting 13 or 14 out of 18 points can often be a better option than getting 11 or 12 out of 20. One 18 pointer that isn't often seen on the show benches is the humble aubergine, in fact it's about as rare as seeing a Liverpool player who doesn't want to break a Man Utd player's legs. I've tried growing this veg for a few years now and haven't had much success, so I know it's well worth its valuation as an 18 pointer veg. At Westminster there is a class for veg over 14 points and less than 20, and Dave Thornton has won this a few times now with a set of three quality aubergines. The variety he grows is 'Bonica' and i've decided to try it by sowing a few seeds today in the hope of giving Dave a run for his money at Westminster in October, and maybe get a few nice specimens like these.

Text books say they can be grown in a similar way as tomatoes and given the same feeds. They like a moisture retentive soil that also doesn't get too waterlogged, and irregular watering can lead to blossom end rot much as it does with toms. I read a few years ago that they are best grown in large pots in the greenhouse and can be planted on a mound in the centre of the pot so that the base of the plant doesn't get too wet and rot. By planting on a mound when you water it runs away from the foot of the plant and thus you are able to give plenty of water safely. I've found that red spider might can be a problem so a regular mist of the leaves is needed and very often the fruits form but drop off before they get much bigger than a cherry tomato. Last year the leaves of my plants turned yellow quite early on in the season and although a regular spray of epsom salts helped a bit I think perhaps I needed a bit more 'oomph' in the potting mix they were planted into. I shall be using a more soil based one this season.

The thing about 'showing' is to learn from your previous mistakes and improve things bit by bit for the next season. It's much like life isn't it? For instance, if you left your car within 10 miles of Liverpool you would come back to find it on fire and all your possessions stolen by the thieving scouse bastards, so the next day you'd know not to do it again.

And the winner of the stupidest grin of the year is.....

......Paul Wlodarczak (aka Winklecrack). After following my advice he's only gone and won most points in the veg section at his local show! I dunno......James (Digtoplant) follows my tomato ripening advice......Dan (allotment diary) follows my carrot advice......I should be claiming commission on their winnings here I reckon! Waddya say boys? Is 10% fair?

Pointing of vegetables

I've been asked a question about the pointing of vegetables. This can be a confusing issue to the novice but needn't be.

The first thing you need to know is that there are two pointing systems that judges can apply, either RHS rules or NVS rules. There are subtle differences between the two but for most village shows I think it's fair to say RHS rules will dominate.

There are some veg that are deemed worthy of 20 points as these are considered the 'top veg' that are the most difficult to grow. These are:

Long carrots
Parsnips
Caulis
Trench Celery
Long leeks
Pot leeks
Onions (over 8oz)
Potatoes
Peas
Tomatoes

These are the ones that most showmen will choose from when compiling collections but if they're struggling with the quality of one of their 'dishes' they may well turn to one of the 18 pointers such as aubergines (rarely), long beet, stump carrots, cucumbers (indoor type), and shallots

In truth you only need to worry about the points value of veg when you're making up a collection. When judging individual classes a judge will be comparing your dish against all the others and it's rare for them to go to the bother of pointing each dish. Instead they will have in mind the attributes that make up a good 'dish'. (p.s. this is just a term and not all veg are actually displayed on dishes!)

For instance, consider long carrots. The 20 points are broken up as follows:

Condition 6 points
Size & shape 4 points
Colour 5 points
Uniformity 5 points

The important thing for all novices to realise is that size only warrants a fifth of the total points available. The overall quality takes up the other 16 with condition being the most important consideration. As I said there are some subtle differences in the NVS rules but I think their philosophy is much the same.....quality counts!

I'd advise novices to get hold of the RHS's 'Horticultural Show Handbook' ISBN 0-906603-73-0.

Some 15 pointer veg include broad beans, french beans, globe beet, cabbage, capsicums, outdoor cucumbers, lettuce, marrows, squashes, 8oz onions and sweetcorn.

If you start to show at NVS level beware as some collections call for 20 pointer veg only. I'm sure the NVS boys will put me right but I'm not sure if tomatoes have been downgraded to 18 points and exhibition shallots upgraded to 20 points under NVS rules.

Brussels

Only a couple of days to Sturton now and my brussels are not as good as they should be. Sturton is the only show I know where there is a class for (9) brussels and I've managed to win it on only one previous occasion.

You need to exhibit reasonably large 'buttons' with a good length of stalk and no sign of pest damage or disease. Inevitably this will require the removal of at least one of the outer skins but it doesn't want to be overdone. I only grow 4 plants (enough for our family) and it's quite difficult finding 9 buttons that are similar in size and condition from such a relatively small number.

Still, it's another entry and if no-one else enters (as has been known) then I'm guaranteed a card of some description although not necessarily a 1st if the judge doesn't think it's quite up to scratch! I sent my entry form off yesterday and have managed to muster up 64 in total although 10 of them are in the cactus classes and 3 in photography. I've won most points in veg at Sturton 5 years running but I'll be hard pushed to do so again this year because of my failure to grow any decent potatoes this year. There are 6 potato classes at Sturton and one year I won 5 of them.

However, I'm fairly confident that most of the other stuff I'll be showing is well up to scratch especially my cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, celery and leeks, and so I should pick up points to make up for the losses elsewhere. I only have about 6 long carrots and 8 parsnips to choose from. I'll only know if they're any good when they're pulled on Friday afternoon.

The car will be loaded up on Friday night and I'll set off at 6am as 'staging' is only allowed between 7.30 and 10am. My car will be absolutely loaded to the gunnels and there won't be a spare inch left.......Leesa has to meet me in Lincoln at 12.30pm after coming on the train! And if you're travelling along the A1500 at about 11 o'clock Saturday morning and see a black BMW parked on the grass verge keep the noise down.....I'll be having a well-earned kip!

'Pointing' of vegetables

Before entering a vegetable exhibit in a Show it is important to know what a judge will be looking for. Too many people are blinded by size and will put the largest specimens into a class with no regard to other factors such as condition and uniformity. The overall quality of an exhibit should be the most important consideration to such an extent that ‘if you wouldn’t eat it don’t show it !’ Gone are the days when the biggest onions automatically won. They will if they are grown well and form a nice even set.........but your smaller ones can and should win if they are in a better condition and are more evenly matched.

The points awarded for parsnips are relevant in understanding what is required. Below are the points awarded under the guidelines of the Royal Horticultural Society and the National Vegetable Society. It is sometimes advisable to check which rules are being used for a particular Show, although for most village events it is not necessary to worry about it too much.

RHS points - Condition 6, Uniformity 5. Size and Shape 5, Colour 4, Total 20 points.
NVS points - Condition 6, Uniformity 4, Shape 4, Size 3, Colour 3. Total 20 points.

In both of the above, size is awarded relatively few points out of the total 20. With this in mind it can be seen that no-one should be put off from having a go just because they think they can’t compete with the ‘big ones’.

Parsnips are one of the '20 pointer' veg. Others are long carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, runner beans, large onions and cauliflowers. The inference is that these veg are more difficult to grow to perfection than say cucumbers (18 points), cabbages (15 points), beetroot (15 points), or 8oz onions (15 points). When a judge is comparing different types of veg in collection classes it would be very difficult, for instance, for cherry tomatoes (12 points) to beat regular size tomatoes unless the cherry toms were near perfect and the regular sized ones hadn't been grown very well, were in poor condition or were poorly matched.....but it can be done!

Presentation of the exhibit can very often make a difference. I have beaten what I would consider to be potentially superior exhibits because not enough attention was given to their preparation. This includes not washing carrots and potatoes, not taking off dead or decaying foliage and displaying an abnormally large vegetable with two other good but smaller specimens and hence losing marks for uniformity.

The pic above shows my winning onions at a recent show. The ones that come second each year are about 4 pounds each and many people struggle to understand how mine keep winning. But luckily the judge knows what he's doing (some don't) and recognises that the larger ones are poorly matched, badly ripened and unevenly weighted.

Read the schedule carefully before entering. Too often people will only put 5 tomatoes in a dish if 6 are asked for. If it asks for carrot foliage to be trimmed to no more than 3” then do so. A judge will be quite within his rights to award a NAS (Not as Schedule) card and first time exhibitors could easily be turned away from what can become a very satisfying and rewarding hobby.

1 flower 1 veg

Enough of football for now.....I'll spend the winter months showing different classes and how to stage in them.

A popular class at a lot of shows is the class for a single specimen flower and a single specimen vegetable. (Some shows go further and also have a single specimen fruit). They are usually very popular as most people will have a spare veg or bloom that they can enter into this class without having to match it up to other blooms or veg. However, it is important to try and select your best single flower or vegetable if you want to have a chance of a prize card.

The judge will compare your dahlia (or whatever bloom you choose) against other dahlias so it needs to be as fully developed and blemish-free as possible. Therefore, flowers such as dahlias/chrysanths and gladioli would be the best ones to go for as these are deemed harder to grow to perfection than say marigolds/sunflowers and other annuals.

Similarly, what are termed '20 pointer' vegetables such as carrots/parsnips/tomatoes/potatoes etc are looked upon more favourably than lower pointed veg such as cabbages/peppers/beetroot etc. (I will explain the pointing of veg in my next post).

The pic above shows a well contested class at Littleover Show this year. The superb gladioli and potato near the camera won.....my humble dahlia and carrot staged next to them didn't even warrant a place.